All stories by Trav S.D. on BroadwayStars

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Now Available to Pre-Order: “Zeppo, The Reluctant Marx Brother” — and More! by Trav S.D.

We awoke to exciting news this morning — Robert S. Bader has just announced his new book Zeppo: The Reluctant Marx Brother, published by Applause, will be on shelves as of October 15, and …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:32AM

Heads Up! Live Screenings of Vintage Comedy Shorts Coming Your Way in NYC by Trav S.D.

Great news for lovers of vintage comedy shorts in NYC — there are many live screenings coming up in your near future! It starts today (March 7, 2024, for those of you who don’t look at t…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:06AM
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Lewis Gilbert: From the Music Hall to Moonraker by Trav S.D.

Lewis Gilbert (1920-2018) was a successful British film director, but it was his trad show biz origins that tipped the balance toward his inclusion in these annals. Gilbert’s parents had a…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:32AM
Tuesday, March 5, 2024

The Other Sheila Terry by Trav S.D.

A few words on the breif career of B movie actress Sheila Terry (Kathleen “Kay” Mulhern, 1910-1957). The title of this post is to clarify a confusion that could only happen to the kind o…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:24AM

Clémentine Delait and the Cafe of the Bearded Woman by Trav S.D.

Today we throw a few crumbs to Clémentine Delait (1865-1939), the Most Celebrated Bearded Lady in France! Delait was born and raised in Lorraine, France, near the German and Swiss borders.…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:18AM
Monday, March 4, 2024

The Original Channing Pollock by Trav S.D.

Your correspondent is one of the few people who requires the specificity that characterizes this post’s title. There was a later Channing Pollock, a magician who lived from 1926 through 20…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:36AM

Scamming with John Scarne by Trav S.D.

The name John Scarne (Orlando Carmelo Scarnecchia, 1903-1985) was brought back to me recently when I was working on my article on NYC’s magic shops for Chelsea Community News. That’s thr…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:32AM
Sunday, March 3, 2024

Hooray for Heidi Swedberg: Seinfeld’s Susan is Now Sukey with a Ukey by Trav S.D.

I just…had to do this. It’s only right. A couple of years ago I binged Seinfeld (1989-1998), because I had only caught it sporadically during the original run, though I did manage a pret…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:54PM

A Monument to Harold J. Stone by Trav S.D.

Today, a brief remembrance of character actor Harold J. Stone (1913-2005). I associate Stone with crook and thug characters but he also played doctors, generals, and other rough-hewn authori…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:32AM
Saturday, March 2, 2024

The Vaudeville of Lucy and Desi by Trav S.D.

Like our recent post about Lucy and Desi bio-pics, this post arises out of the quality time I spent with this entertaining couple and their various shows during the Covid lockdown (in partic…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:48AM
Friday, March 1, 2024

Alan Thicke: Thicke of the Night by Trav S.D.

People just a shade younger than me have an entirely different mental association with Alan Thicke (Alan Jeffrey, 1947-2016). To them, he is the dad on the TV sitcom Growing Pains (1985-1992…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:48AM
Thursday, February 29, 2024

Travalanche Turns Sweet 16 (and Also Four) by Trav S.D.

February 29, 2008 was the day Travalanche was launched, making this erstwhile offspring of mine 16 years old, but having had only four birthdays. A Leap Year Baby. I launched the blog while …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:24PM

How Leonard Nimoy Helped Alex Rocco Go Straight by Trav S.D.

It isn’t often (once every four years, in fact) that we get to add a new Leap Year Baby to Travalanche. Thus far, out of thousands of bios here, we’ve only got Dinah Shore, William Wellm…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM
Wednesday, February 28, 2024

The Dorothy Stratten Story by Trav S.D.

The sordid tragedy of Dorothy Stratten (1960-80) has been rehashed countless times over the past four decades. I find it less compelling for the horrific story itself than for its resonances…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM
Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Steinbeck on Stage and Screen by Trav S.D.

There’s an actor and an opera star I could be writing about this morning, but I just can’t get myself worked up about them, whereas there’s much more to be said on the topic of John St…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:18PM
Monday, February 26, 2024

Of Fact, Fiction, and Flammarions by Trav S.D.

This post will lap around the edges of carnival, though nothing really connects its constituent parts beyond a name. February 26 was the birthday of the intriguing French figure Camille Flam…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:48AM

Of Billy Reed and His Little Club by Trav S.D.

A few words on Billy “Zoot” Reed (1913-1974) and Billy Reed’s Little Club (1947-1965). I first learned about this long gone Manhattan institution in writing about the magician Harry Lo…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:42AM
Sunday, February 25, 2024

A Word on Lucille Ward by Trav S.D.

Notes on stage and screen actress Lucille Ward (1880-1952). A native of Dayton, Ohio the first years of the 20th century saw Ward touring with vaudeville and stock companies, and appearing i…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM
Saturday, February 24, 2024

The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope by Trav S.D.

February 24 was the natal day of William M. Ruthrauff (1881-1969), inventor of Pepsodent. At least, he’s the inventor according to this excellent article at the Made in Chicago Museum. The…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:06AM

Milton Frome: From “Foys” to “Joys” by Trav S.D.

February 24 was the birthday of “Chrome Dome Frome” a.k.a. Texaco Star Theatre’s Second Best Milton, Milton Frome (1908-1989). (No one ever called him those things, I just thought them…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:36AM
Friday, February 23, 2024

Born 150 Years Ago: The Woman Who Named Jell-O by Trav S.D.

Born 150 years ago today May Davis Wait (1874-1956). Just over a century ago, Wait’s husband, a sometime cough syrup manufacturer name Pearle, invented Jell-O; May’s the one who named it…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 10:18AM
Thursday, February 22, 2024

Hangin’ with James Hong by Trav S.D.

February 22 is the birthday of respected veteran character actor James Hong (b. 1929). He’s 95 as I pen this, and still toiling at what he loves, which is pretty incredible. Hong’s fathe…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:24AM
Wednesday, February 21, 2024

More on Marxfest by Trav S.D.

Hello, you must be going! The long-awaited return of Marxfest will take place over two glorious weekends in NYC, packed with once-in-a-lifetime events calculated to thrill the obsessive Marx…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:48AM

The Other Charles King by Trav S.D.

It amuses me especially to title this post “the OTHER Charles King” since it’s likely that precious few readers have ever heard of the first one we wrote about here. As it happens, tod…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 07:36AM
Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Little Gloria…Happy At Last by Trav S.D.

Gloria Vanderbilt (1924-2019) was born 100 years ago today. Hers is a name that has meant something different to every American generation. Contemporary people may or may not recognize her a…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 08:42AM
Monday, February 19, 2024

The Travalanche Hall of Presidents by Trav S.D.

Happy Presidents Day! Young people may not know this, but ostensibly this is not a day for ALL the Presidents, just Washington and Lincoln. We used to celebrate them each as separate holiday…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 05:32AM

William Dunlap: One Eye on the Future by Trav S.D.

It is our pleasure this morning to tell you about Early American Renaissance Man William Dunlap (1766-1839). Dunlap’s most significant contributions were in the theatre, but he was also a …

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 04:32AM

Hope Hampton: The Duchess of Park Avenue by Trav S.D.

A few words on the brief career of Hope Hampton (Mae Elizabeth Hampton,1897-1982). Hampton was a Philadelphia beauty pageant queen who was spotted by pioneering producer Jules Brulatour whil…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 02:24AM
Sunday, February 18, 2024

The Other Little Caesar by Trav S.D.

Though we have been writing about lots of corporate brands of late, we regret to advise that today’s post is not about the pizza chain. Nor even the 1931 gangster movie with Edward G. Robi…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 11:12AM
Saturday, February 17, 2024

The Mel Welles Centennial by Trav S.D.

For a goodly stretch there, when I was about 20 years old, my very favorite movie in all the world was Roger Corman’s original 1960 Little Shop of Horrors (which is one of the many reasons…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 09:54AM
Friday, February 16, 2024

The Murder of Hokum W. Jeebs by Trav S.D.

On this day in 2011, Professor Hokum W. Jeebs (Robert Stabile, b. 1951) breathed his last. This is a story of the New Vaudeville, but sounds for all the world like something from the Very Ol…

SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 06:42AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards